The International Hydrological Decade (which ended in 1975) led to a revival of hydrological sciences to a degree which, seen in retrospect, is quite spectacular. This research programme had strong government support, no doubt due to an increased awareness of the role of water for prosperous development. Since water quality is an essential ingredient in almost all water use, there was also a considerable interest in hydrochemistry during the Decade. As many concepts in classical hydrology had to be revised during and after the Decade there was also a need for revising hydrochemistry to align it with modern hydrology. A considerable input of fresh knowledge was also made in the recent past by chemists, particularly geochemists, invaluable for understanding the processes of mineralization of natural waters. With all this in mind it seems natural to try to assemble all the present knowledge of hydrochemistry into a book and integrate it with modern hydrology as far as possible, emphasizing the dynamic features of dissolved substances in natural waters. Considering the role of water in nature for transfer of substances, this integration is essential for proper understanding of processes in all related earth sciences. The arrangement of subjects in the book is as follows. After a short introductory chapter comes a chapter on elementary chemical principles of particular use in hydrochemistry.
